PCT SOBO DAY 15 – Good clouds or bad clouds?

Day 15

Home: Traps Passite, Mile 200.5

END: TENTSITE, MILLA 219.3

Walked miles: 18.8 miles

Looking from under the door of my store this morning he instilled a feeling of fear. Clouds! Still staggering from the rain festival all day a couple of days ago, seeing the thick layer of clouds rolling through the sky made me want to leave my store. The calculations on whether I could balance a zero on the path flew through my mind, but finally I had to face the day, whether or not it brought rain.

After fighting the mosquitoes that rose early to terrorize me as I packed, I was finally on the way. Today he only had 2 (!!) main increases, for which he was grateful. The path was really becoming easier after section K!

The morning moved slowly to me, probably because I hadn’t had caffeine this morning. Having the energy gel on the rainy day really launched me to walk all day. Now that I didn’t have that additional impulse, I could definitely feel the difference.

The clouds turned out to be friends and not enemies. They kept the air in the cool morning and protected me from the sun’s rays, and then disappeared slowly as the morning progressed. In my first climb of the day, I spent several weekend hikers, all dressed in mosquito equipment. Yes, mosquitoes were still quite bad and the fact that several lakes would not help.

As lunch time came, it was difficult to find a place without mosquitoes, but I was lucky. Only about 5 mosquitoes buzzed around me at the same time compared to the 20-30 that typically VI. This was a perfect lunch place! I even enjoyed resting a little, although I still had to wear my wind jacket and wind pants to protect myself from mosquitoes that wanted to suck my blood.

Shortly after lunch, it was time to go up again. This time I had about 2,000 feet of elevation gain to cover to reach the cathedral pass. First came a couple of stream crossings that turned out to be a bit more difficult than expected. The water was very fast, where he crossed the path, but fortunately a couple of father/daughter who crosses from the opposite direction told me where the best place to cross was. I had to pull some big rocks, but I easily crossed and returned to the road.

I took my time with climbing because I was very steep for PCT standards. I spent some more weekends, including a family with two children who should have had about 8 or 10 years. I also found a guy called geodude that is doing the Great Western Loop, which is basically the PCT and CDT plus 3 paths in a season. Apparently, he had begun earlier this year in New Mexico and had almost ended the PCT. Cool!

When I arrived at Cathedral Pass, the time came for a snack. Once again, the mosquitoes wanted to harass me, so I put on my jacket and wind pants, and I did my best to advance them while ate. You really don’t have to escape these guys here, even for a moment of peace.

Mercadillo made, I started with my last 4.5 miles downhill to my camp. Today it was going to be an early day for me, but I didn’t care to give my body a bit extra rest. Once I got to my camp, I was pleasantly surprised once again for how few mosquitoes there were. I could actually sit outside and enjoy the sun a bit. After dinner, I installed my store and enjoyed a long and quiet night.

And that is a day in the life of a PCT Sobo hiker!

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